30 comments:

Love this, Joanna! I just clicked on the link for ESB and realized that's a photo of Chicago, not NYC! Silly me, I didn't even stop to think that it didn't look like the Empire State until a saw a comment on that link. Just thought you might want to know!

During my lunch break (from painting my bedroom!), I finished the season finale of The Mindy Project. I love connections, and the ESB AND When Harry Met Sally both play an important role in that marvelous episode!

The Empire State Building will never be the same to me after that father threw his toddler son over and then jumped himself over Christmas. The hardest part was hearing he was in his Christmas jammies. The visualization of that breaks my heart as I have a toddler son myself.

My husband and I once packed a picnic dinner of meat, cheese, bread and wine for our train from Paris back home to Bern, and just as we tucked into our supper a man across the aisle told us in exaggerated French-mime expressions that he was going to projectile vomit all over the place if we didn't put our (stinky) goat's cheese away immediately! We packed it up straight away but basically laughed the whole way home. We must have looked like total amateurs! It's still one of my favorite travel meals though : )

The international dining etiquette story is by Amanda Ruggeri, one of my other favorite bloggers (RevealedRome.com). :) And I've always loved the idea of Amanda Hesser's plane picnics! Plus, one of the funny benefits of being in a relationship with an Italian is that with regard to these hand gestures, I get schooled on a daily basis. And what happens to all those 700,000 euros, btw? I hope it goes toward the fountain's restoration.

I have been to Rome twice, many years apart, and the Trevi Fountain was dry both times! I still threw a coin in though. When my husband and I travel by plane, we bring two small containers of brown rice with avocado and carrot - substantial enough to tide us over on a long travel day. Love your blog!

I'm taking all those international etiquette tips with a pinch of salt since I know the British one to be... not untrue, exactly, but completely irrelevant to practically any dinner situation you'd be likely to encounter here (especially if you are a budget traveller). Like we're all drinking port at every meal?! (Sorry, we don't have afternoon tea every afternoon either.)

I love the plane food ideas! I get a little air sickness, so bringing my own treats sounds very comforting - especially bagels and little nibs of tasty liquors! (However, I may not be a super happy fellow passenger if I was next to someone with salt & vinegar chips - eek!)

Great post! Although being from Belgium, I also use these "italian" gestures! Will check it out this weekend in Rome and will throw another coin into the Trevi fountain :-) About being ill during holiday and getting extra days, unfortunately this is not the case in Belgium :-(

Sure you get vacation days back when you get sick! Vacation days are for recuperating, if you get sick you can't get rested. At my work we just have to hand in a doctor's slip that we were sick on that day. An advantage of living in Europe I guess :)Loved the italian hand gestures. I have a lot of italian friends and they are so LOUD a lot of the time - both verbally and with their gestures, I love it :)

I'm «european» and I can't remember any legislation saying that you can get more days if you get sick during your vacation... sorry, not in my country!! but Europe is «big», guess the legislation as to be different from country to country, right?!